The Dallas Cowboys are heading into Week 4 with plenty to sort out after a 34-31 loss in Rio left them frustrated and short on answers. They didn’t get blown out, and that almost made the defeat sting more. Dallas had a chance to steal it at the end, but a series of self-inflicted mistakes sent them back to Texas empty-handed.
Now the focus shifts to the Houston Texans on the road, and there are several Cowboys who need a strong showing. A few are dealing with pressure because of poor play.
Others are trying to show they can handle bigger roles. All of them have something on the line.
Terence Steele sits near the top of that list. The veteran right tackle has allowed two penalties, four pressures, and one sack while posting a 56.0 PFF grade through three weeks.
That puts him 58th out of 69 qualified tackles. He was better against the Ravens than he had been before, but the challenge gets much tougher in Houston with Will Anderson across from him.
Anderson is one of the best defensive ends in the game, and he can blow up an offense if he isn’t contained. Steele will have help, but there will still be moments when he has to win on his own.
If he doesn’t, the noise around Broderick Jones taking over will only get louder.
Markquese Bell is also under the spotlight as injuries have reshaped the safety room. With Malik Hooker, Jalen Thompson, and P.J.
Locke all out, Bell is now the leader of the safety group. Rookie Caleb Downs is expected to see more work at safety instead of nickel, but the Cowboys would rather keep Downs close to the line of scrimmage, where he is most effective.
That only works if Bell can handle the starting job. His Week 3 performance wasn’t great, though he was dealing with dehydration in the humid weather.
Against Houston, he needs to be much cleaner to keep the secondary from getting picked apart.
Rashan Gary has also not delivered the impact Dallas wanted. The Cowboys caught heat for trading for him, but they believed he could become the veteran presence to anchor the pass rush.
Instead, he has produced six tackles, six pressures, and no sacks in three games. PFF has him at 78th out of 109 EDGE rushers with a 57.6 grade.
With the secondary banged up, the easiest way to help that unit is to get after C.J. Stroud, and Gary needs to show Dallas made the right call bringing him in.
Then there is Brian Schottenheimer, who enters Week 4 under the brightest spotlight of anyone in the building. The second-year head coach was responsible for multiple game-management mistakes on Sunday, and those errors left points on the board before halftime and again at the end of the fourth quarter.
Dallas had to do a lot wrong to lose in regulation, and Schottenheimer helped every bad break come true. Jerry Jones has traditionally been patient with coaches, but he has shown more urgency to win this offseason.
If Schottenheimer can’t get more out of this roster, especially with such an expensive offense, his seat could heat up fast.
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For Dallas, the most relevant takeaway is how quickly some of these rookies are forcing coaches and fans to pay attention. The Cowboys have already seen promise from Barham and Reese on defense, and the broader draft conversation is getting harder to ignore as more first-year players keep stacking good weeks. With so many early impressions still forming, the rookie debate is just starting to sharpen for teams that value immediate impact. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Face An Early Gut Check As Doubts Start Growing
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For a team trying to steady itself early in the season, this is the kind of matchup that can sharpen the conversation fast. Dallas is already managing multiple key absences on defense, and the pressure only grows when the offense does not look as comfortable as it should, making Sunday a useful early measure of where the Cowboys really are. [Read more 🡒]
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For Cowboys fans, it is one more reminder that Fergusons name keeps popping up beyond the box score during the early part of the 2026 season. He has already been part of Dallas passing game with receptions and receiving yards on the board, while George Kittle has been doing his usual work for San Francisco. The football side of the story is straightforward enough, but the podcast debate gives Ferguson another moment in the spotlight for reasons that have nothing to do with routes, catches or yards. [Read more 🡒]